"It was just one game."
If
Dwyane Wade thought the Pacers were celebrating their 78-75 win in Game
2 a little too much, then he wasn’t watching West. Indeed, the veteran
power forward was making sure his young teammates knew Tuesday’s stunner
over the Heat only tied the Eastern Conference semifinal series and
didn't assure them of anything but a fifth game.
"We can't get too
excited because we won one game," he said after scoring 16 points with
10 boards. "That is not our goal in this series. We can't overreact
because we were able to get one game down here."
Still, it was a
significant victory for an Indiana team expected by the national media
to be little more than chum in the water for Miami's cruise to the
Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat's loss of All-Star forward Chris
Bosh to a torn abdominal muscle was thought to be nothing more than an
inconvenience in this series; the national pundits did acknowledge it
might hurt Miami's chances in the next round.
Instead, the Pacers take home-court advantage back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for Games 3 (Thursday) and 4 (Sunday).
"We
just have to understand that the way we felt after Game 1 is how
they're feeling right now," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "They're
going to come and bring everything they have in Game 3. We can't think
about winning two at home, or trying to get something back here. We have
to think about one thing, and that is keeping an edge while their edge
just got sharper — and winning Game 3. That's it."
The Pacers used
one sustained offensive burst in the third quarter, a 20-4 run in which
five players scored, to build a 61-50 lead. As in Game 1, Miami turned
to LeBron James and Wade, who scored 20 in a 22-10 run that put the Heat
in front 72-71 with 4:11 remaining.
With momentum, a frenzied
crowd and two of the best closers in the game on a roll, it appeared
Miami was on its way to another comeback victory. But this time the
Pacers dug in defensively, shut off the Heat's lifeline of offensive
rebounds and made just enough plays down the stretch to hold on.
"Welcome
to Eastern Conference playoff basketball," Vogel said. "Obviously
(we're) very pleased to get the win. Our team has won with defense and
rebounding all year. Those are the two areas that hurt us most in Game
1. Tonight we won those two battles and helped us get over the hump.
"We
understand that offense is going to come and go. Our defense has got to
be our staple. Our guys competed harder tonight than they probably have
in the entire season."
A physical series took the next step in
the fourth quarter. Wade picked up a flagrant foul for elbowing Darren
Collison to the floor from behind in transition. James and Danny Granger
squared off after they became entangled when James drove to the basket.
West
had Indiana's final hoop, rising above James in the lane to make it
76-73 with 2:53 remaining. Wade then scored on a post-up to make it a
one-point game, but that was it for the Heat. Miami missed its final six
shots and James even missed two free throws that would've given the
Heat the lead with 54.3 seconds left.
"We really did find a way to
win," said Granger, who struggled to 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting. "We
missed a lot of free throws, they missed some free throws, (we) made
the ones that counted. It was a tough, nasty game."
The Pacers
shot just 38 percent and committed 20 turnovers, but won the rebounding
battle 50-40 and outscored Miami 13-6 in transition. They also kept
anyone other than Wade and James from hurting them. The Heat's two
superstars combined for 52 points on 41 percent shooting; their
teammates produced 23 points on 9-of-34 shooting (26.5 pct). No other
Heat player scored more than five points.
Indiana, meanwhile, got
contributions throughout the roster. West had his second straight
double-double while Paul George had his first with 10 points and 11
rebounds. George Hill scored 15, Roy Hibbert pulled down 11 rebounds and
Leandro Barbosa scored eight as the bench held a 18-11 scoring
advantage.
"You kind of take a breath of fresh air right now,"
Granger said. "You came down, got one, got a split here which is what
you want to do on the road in the playoffs. Now with our fans behind us,
we have to come out and play with an edge."
It should be more readily done, now that the Pacers actually have one.
